Symphony No. 3 in a minor, “Scottish,” Op. 56

Quick Facts

• Written between 1841-42
• Premiered with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester conducted by Felix Mendelssohn
• Four movements (*performed without pause*)
  • *Second movement is marked Scherzo; third movement is Adagio
• Dedicated to Queen Victoria (yes, that Queen Victoria)¹

About the Piece

• Mendelssohn began to conceive his “Scotch Symphony” (how the composer referred to the work in correspondence) during his first trip to the UK in 1829. When visiting Scotland during this trip, he was particularly struck by Holyrood Palace and all its tragic history, writing:
  • “Everything there is ruined, decayed, and open to the clear sky. I believe that I have found there today the beginning of my Scotch Symphony.”
  • It would be another 11 years before the composer would work on the piece in earnest, finishing his third symphony in 1842.²
• Listen for:
  • The introduction of Symphony No. 3 evokes the somber Holyrood Palace Chapel at dusk.
  • In the third movement, “Adagio,” Mendelssohn “seems to find his Romantic soul; nothing he wrote is quite like it in depth of feeling.”³
• Mendelssohn left no program for the work, though the music certainly conjures up imagery for the listener.

1. “Symphony No.3, Op.56 (Mendelssohn, Felix),” IMSLP, accessed February 14, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.3,Op.56(Mendelssohn,_Felix).
2. Terry Williams, “Building a Library: Symphony No. 3, ‘Scottish,'” BBC Music Magazine Vol. 28, No. 3 (2020), 72-73.
3. Ibid.